On Friday March 18th, the sun was shining in Austin, Texas and the bands were bringing A-game performances. My day began in the conference center where I attended a panel discussion and then caught local boys, The Black Angels play a wake-up set of psychedelic Gothic rock. I moved over to Stubbs for the annual SPIN magazine party just in time to catch UK act The Vaccines. I saw this fledgling foursome play a few weeks back in NYC and was excited to hear them again after having spent some time with their upcoming debut album. The band tore through a quick set before ceding the stage to 80s synth-pop act OMD, who I ended up seeing for a second time. (Same set and everything, though the duo performed enthusiastically.)

Later in the evening, I ran over to Maggie Mays to catch the band Other Lives, whose new album, Tamer Animals, will be out May 11th. After Other Lives, I poked my head into a few other venues and caught a bit of a random hardcore band from Mexico and then Brooklyn’s electro/club act Class Actress, who seemed plagued by sound problems. The main act I wanted to see at midnight was Brighton, England’s Esben and the Witch. The trio—Rachel Davies, Daniel Copeman and Thomas Fisher—play dark and stormy indie rock with a heavy percussive undercurrent. Lead singer Rachel Davies’ voice reminded me of a more aggro Bat for Lashes and the guitar work made me think of Warpaint. The performance had intensity and drama--definitely something I needed after standing through so many sets that day.